Newcastle take hard line on jailed Joey Barton

Tough: Barton faces huge wage cut

By Telegraph staff

10:46AM BST 10 Jun 2008

Newcastle have issued their imprisoned midfielder Joey Barton an ultimatum ahead of his latest court appearance this month. According to reports, he must agree to a £30,000-a-week pay cut or face dismissal from the club for gross misconduct.

Barton, currently serving a six-month sentence for assault and affray at Walton prison, will be presented with his options when his agent, Willie McKay, visits him today to make Newcastle's hard line approach clear.

The news comes at a bad time for Barton. Later this month he will reappear in court, on this occasion over charges of assault on former team-mate Ousmane Dabo when he was at Manchester City. Should he be found guilty, it is widely expected that Newcastle will have no option but to terminate his contract.

"We are in discussions with his representatives about what is best for the club going forward," United chairman Chris Mort said. "Obviously, we are not going to ignore the fact that he is currently in jail.

"It is too early to say whether Joey being sacked is a possible outcome, but we are talking about what the future holds."

The long-term financial hit that the 25-year-old would take, should he accept the reduced salary, would amount to £6 million over four years. However, Newcastle have made it clear that the alternative is the transfer market.

Kevin Keegan is still set on keeping hold of Barton, and the Newcastle board are reluctant to release him on a free transfer. However, the club are currently placing primacy on their efforts to reduce their wage bill, with rumours circulating that the clubs top earners, including Michael Owen, face substantially reduced salaries.

Newcastle will no doubt take heart from Chelsea's recent compensation victory over Adrian Mutu. Sources close to the club believe that they have strong legal grounds to accuse Barton of gross misconduct, and Newcastle could look to use the Chelsea case - the first damages claim of its kind in the sport - as a precedent to win reparations.